Due to redistricting, incumbents Charles “Chip” Pickering and Ronnie Shows were forced to run against each other in the Mississippi's newly configured Third Congressional District. In what turned out to be the fifth most expensive congressional seat in the 2002 midterm election and the most expensive congressional seat in the state's history, Pickering defeated Shows, 64 to 35%. The race initially attracted significant attention from party committees and interest groups. The Mississippi Democratic Party sponsored TV ads painting Pickering as a “Washington Insider,” while the state Republican Party concentrated most of its effort on the ground war. Seniors' groups, such as the United Seniors Association and the Seniors Coalition, distributed mailings praising Pickering's stance on prescription drug coverage, while the AFL-CIO produced a TV ad critical of Pickering's close ties to “big business.” Pickering's substantial lead in both fundraising and pre-election polls, however, caused much of the campaign activity to fizzle-out by Election Day.